Homes

Party on to sell your home

Luxury Nights in Edmonton a new way to market high-end houses

This open house in Ramsay Heights last weekend is one of a new breed of events that includes an exclusive guest list, food, wine and entertainment, as part of an effort to sell high-end homes.

Photograph by: Bruce Edwards
, Edmonton Journal

At this swish cocktail party/marketing event held at a luxurious, southwest-Edmonton home, it's hard to tell exactly what's for sale. The food? The personal chef services? The wine? The art?

Well, yes, all of the above. But mostly, the house itself.

It's an "open house" that's open only to an exclusive list of invited guests, plied with appetizers prepared by a personal chef, wine donated by local suppliers and entertainment provided gratis, all in the hopes of striking the right note with the right buyer.

"For a lot of million-dollar-plus homes, people don't want the general public at large to come in and gawk at their house," explains Stephen Lau, the local realtor who helped organize the sales party for a client in Ramsay Heights last weekend.

"The key is to bring in a qualified clientele, to make it exclusive, to have some support for charity, to bring in some live entertainment, to have a personal chef."

Lau worked with event planner/ personal concierge Shannon Berry to create the event, and plans to continue the model for future, high-end clients with homes selling for a cool million or more.

Berry, owner of Capital Concierge, first experimented with the idea just before Christmas, organizing an open house for a friend while showcasing women in business. Sponsors provided products and services for the event, including food, wine, reflexology, skin care and a centrepiece-making workshop, to which Berry invited more than 100 women. The house, a more modest, $360,000, 1912 character home just south of Whyte Avenue, sold 10 days later.

Since that first effort, Berry has worked with local chef Andrew Parker to provide food for the events, and Lau, to provide the venues.

"It helps get a little bit of exposure for the house, but our focus is, first of all, having a little bit of fun and promoting local businesses," says Berry.

She's calling these home events Luxury Nights in Edmonton. Last weekend's event was at the 3,000-square-foot home of artist Angela Lee, on the market for $898,000.

"Ultimately, we just want more eyeballs in the house, who know the right people, who can talk about the house, talk about the event, get excited and build everyone a bigger centre of influence, a bigger network as well," says Lau.

Think of it as Edmonton's version of the HGTV show Million Dollar Listing, which follows the trials of real estate agents in Los Angeles who often use similar, high-end parties to market their exclusive listings.

"People at the million-dollar price point, they're very fussy and very picky about what they want," says Lau. "You're also competing with people building brand new or tearing down houses and building something."

Many people who come to an open house aren't actually in the market for a home, he adds. Often they're just curious, but if they found the right house at the right price, they'd move on it, or at least tell their friends about it.

At the latest Luxury Nights in Edmonton event at Lee's home on 154th St., about 60 people mingled through the rooms, munching lemon chicken lollipops and goat cheese-stuffed pork loin.

"I think it's great exposure with lots of people, and to have a chef prepare little appies," says homeowner Lee. "They made it fun; people were just enjoying it and walking around with a glass of wine and little tapas. I think that's a great approach."

The event had a much different feel from a conventional home viewing, she adds. "People are more relaxed and it's not like they just come, walk through and out. It was better than just a regular open house. It's not so boring."

Lee's event also included a showing of her own art work, which was for sale, with a portion of profits going to the CNIB.

Lau says future Luxury Nights in Edmonton will include a charitable component, likely from the sale of tickets, the proceeds of which will go to charity.

Berry, chef Parker and Lau are planning another luxury night event for April at a $2.15-million home Lau is selling in the far west end of the city.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Househunting Newsletter

Receive the latest in real estate news, decorating and renovating tips every two weeks in the househunting.ca newsletter.